How do you reduce your home insurance premiums?

Home and contents insurance is, whether you rent or own a home, a seeming necessity. When you take into account the number of must-have, high-priced items you own – as well as all of the memories that other items (or the house itself!) holds – it seems wrong not to protect them against any worst-case scenarios.

However, the cost of these policies continues to dissuade a few people from getting this coverage, effectively putting them at the mercy of burglary, fires or other unpredictable possibilities that could leave them heavily out of pocket. So, if you’re finding that your premiums are too high, what can you do to lower them?

Perhaps the easiest way to save money – at least in the long-term – is to pay for a year’s worth of coverage in one lump sum. Many home insurance providers see this loyalty as worthy of a discount, so you’ll be able to secure 12 months for the price of 11 – maybe even ten, if you look in the right place!

Don’t over-insure

If you’re going to pay the right amount for your coverage, then you can’t afford to over-insure what you own. With contents insurance, estimating the rough value of belongings could push you up a bracket or two, so be sure to note everything down before adding it all up. With buildings insurance, you should only total up how much it would cost for your property to be entirely rebuilt from scratch – not its purchase value.

Opt to pay a larger excess

If you know that you can afford to pay more on a one-off excess if you are unfortunate enough to need to claim on your insurance, then you will be offered lower monthly premiums. If your excess is £500 before your insurer steps in, ask if you could double it – so long as you can afford it, and you’re confident that you will not need to pay out!

Make fewer claims

If you have a history of making claims on insurance policies, then you’ll likely be made to pay higher insurance premiums. If you avoid asking for a pay-out on trivial things, you will reap the benefits of no-claims bonuses.